Scientific American Magazine

Eight social scientists reflect on the unprecedented effects of a large-scale peacetime civil defense program and present some urgent questions for the consideration of other citizens

An ingenious telescope in a satellite has provided the first view of the universe at the shortest wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. This historic glimpse is supplied by just 22 gamma rays

In which special lenses are used to demonstrate the eye's remarkable ability to correct for distortions. Such studies help to explain how the visual system learns to produce an effective picture of the world

It still disables more people than any other disease. Many nations in which it is a major problem now aim, with the aid of the World Health Organization, at its total eradication

Fine copper wires exploded in the laboratory by a large burst of electrical energy produce shock waves that are analogous to those created by meteorites and missiles in the atmosphere

By setting off explosions in the water and observing how sound waves from them are reflected and refracted, the oceanographer can determine the structure of the earth's crust three miles below the ocean's floor

Although these intelligent apes are familiar in the laboratory and the zoo, they have seldom been observed in their native environment. A new study has revealed some unexpected features of their behavior

When mammalian heart tissue is dissociated and cultured, individual cells beat and organize themselves into fibers. Heart-cell cultures offer a new way of studying the heart and the differentiation of cells